The State Of The Black Union

Jamestown Story Is Complicated

WILLIAMSBURG — A multicultural panel of historians at the College of William and Mary discusses the settlement's ramifications.

Darlene Clark Hine wants everyone to know the Jamestown story is complex.

"It's complicated by the diversity of people who met here, either through free will or through force," said Hine, a history and black studies professor at Northwestern University near Chicago. "We don't do a service, as historians, to the American people by telling only one little strand of that story."

Hine's comments came Friday during a panel discussion called "Jamestown -- 400 Years in Retrospect: A Cross-Cultural Look at the First Settlement." The discussion, held at the College of William and Mary's Phi Beta Kappa Hall, served as a kickoff for today's State of the Black Union symposium at Hampton University's Convocation Center.

The symposium is an annual event that host Tavis Smiley, a nationally known broadcaster, has brought to Hampton Roads this year. Smiley has tied this year's activities to the Jamestown 2007 commemoration, an 18- month series of statewide events aimed at boosting tourism, marking the settlement's 400th anniversary and honoring the three cultures that collided there.

Friday's panel discussion featured nine experts from across the country. In a wide-ranging exchange of ideas, the panelists -- most of them historians -- covered subjects such as slavery's legacies, Virginia Indians' reactions to English settlers, and greed's role in American history.

Cassandra Newby-Alexander, a history professor at Norfolk State University, talked about why Jamestown is often overshadowed by stories of Pilgrims in Massachusetts. She said it's because Americans don't want to focus on slavery -- or the class system at Jamestown based primarily on race that predated slavery.

"We would see this become the basis for American society, but it's not convenient to see this as a basis. That is why Plymouth has been catapulted to the beginning of our nation, as opposed to Jamestown," Newby-Alexander said. Earlier she said, "I'm hopeful that this discussion will begin the process -- after 400 years -- (of looking) at the realities of our past, not what we want to see, but truly what existed."

Karenne Wood, a writer and chairwoman of the Virginia Council on Indians, addressed how Virginia Indians viewed the English settlers. She also stressed that Iroquois Indians had representative assemblies before the English settlers formed theirs.

"The native people saw the English, when they first arrived, as uncivilized and barbaric. For one thing, the English didn't bathe (except) once every two months or so," Wood said.

"They seemed to be bumbling and faltering. They picked the worst possible spot for their settlement."

Princeton University professor Cornel West's remarks included a link between today's corporate world and Jamestown's investors.

"English America was a corporation before it was a country. This is entrepreneurial activity. They're looking for gold. They're looking for silver," West said. "You're talking about the fundamental role of greed. This is very important. ... So when you get to 2007 and start talking about corporate greed, you're going to see some continuity."

Nearly 800 people packed Phi Beta Kappa Hall for the panel discussion. The crowd included VIPs such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who spoke briefly and is also participating in other local events tied to the State of the Black Union.

Smiley delivered a short speech before the panel discussion started, previewing the upcoming symposium at HU.

"This conversation today really sets the stage for the conversation we want to have tomorrow," Smiley said. "Tomorrow we want to talk about moving forward. We've been here 400 years now. How do we advance?" *

TODAY'S EVENT

This year's State of the Black Union will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hampton University's Convocation Center.

CAN I STILL GET IN?

No. Registration is full. About 13,000 people have registered.

IS IT ON TV?

Cable channel CSPAN plans to broadcast the entire event live.

ONLINE EXTRA

To see video from Friday's panel discussion, visit dailypress.com/blackunion.